Damper adjusting attachment for oil burners



Feb. 23, 1932. a. R; GRACE 1,845,717

DAMPER ADJUSTING ATTACHMENT FOR OIL BURNERS Filed Nov. 27. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 23, 1932.- B. R. GRACE 1,346,717

DMPER ADJUSTING ATTACHMENT FOR 011: BURNERS Filed Nov. 27,1929 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 BEnJAMin R. GRACE, or TROY, NEW YORK, Assrenon or ONE-THIRD To Norm A.

GRACE AND ONE-THIRD .ro MAURICE :r. COONEY, BOTH or TRQY, NEW YORK DAMPER ADJUSTING ATTACHMENT FOR OIL BURNERS Application filed. November 27, 1929. Serial No. 410,212.

This invention relates todraft regulating devices and more particularly to an attachment for an oil burner by means of which a damper in the draft pipe of a furnace leading to the chimney may beautomatically opened and closed.

Oil burners for use in connection witha hot water boiler or equivalent heating plant for a building, as now constructed, have thermostats associated therewith so that when the temperature goes down to a predetermined point the oil burner will be turned on and after the temperature has risen to the desired point, the burner is again shut off. In most cases the damper in the smoke pipe leadingfrom the boiler to the chimney remains open and the draft in the chimney causes hot airto be sucked out of the firebox of the furnace and cold air to be drawn into the same. This causes the 'firebox to be quickly cooled with resulting'lowering of the water temperature and the oil burner will be turned on sooner than would be the case if the hot air and products of combusclosed whenthe oil burner 'is shut OE. and

thereby confine hot air and products of combustion in the firebox. Bythis arrangement, cooling of the firebox due to hot air and products of combustion being sucked out of the same and cold air drawn into it, will be prevented and the intervals between operation of the oil burner extended. This will 1 not only keep a building at a more even temperature but Will also result in a material pipe leading from the oil burner and toalso permit oil to drain back from a column in which the plungermoves to the storage tank.

Another object of the invention is to prov de a device of this character which is very simple in its construction and not liable to get out of order.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

I Figure l is a view in side elevation showing the improved damper adjusting attachment 1n use. T

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken vertically through the column of the attachment.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional View through the upper portion of the column, taken on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a; transverse sectional view taken through the column on the line H of Figure 2.

The boiler shown in Figure 1, and indicated in general by the numeral 1, represents a conventional form of hot water or steam boiler and is provided with the usual smoke or draft pipe 2 leading to a chimney or flue 3. A damper l of a conventional construction is pivotally mounted in the pipe 2 and in order to movethe damper to an open or closed position there has'been provided an actuating handle or lever 5 which preferably extends V at the angle shown when the damper is closed.

An oil burner 6, which is also of conventional 7 tank 8 through the pipe 9 and forced into the burner under pressure. The pump may be of the centrifugal type or any other specific construction found suitable. Any suitable type of thermostatic means ma be employed to turn the burner on and off w en necessary.

The attachment by-means of which the damper is to be opened and closed consists of a tower 10 which is erected in a vertical position at one side of the pipe 2 and has slidably mounted therein a plunger 11 which extends upwardly out of the upper end of the tower and is secured to thelower end of a draw rod 12 the upper end of which is pivotally connected to the handle or lever 5. When the plunger is in its lowered or normal position, the damper is closed but when the plunger is moved upwardly the rod 12 acts upon the handle 5 and turns the damper to an open position. It will thus be seen that the damper will be opened when the oil burner is in operation but will be closed when the burner is shut off and hot air and products of combustion will be confined in the firebox of the boiler. By this arrangement, a greater length of time will elapse before the temperature is reduced to such a point that the oil burner will. be again turned on.

Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the tower is formed of upper, lower and intermediate sections 13, 14 and 15, disposed one above the other and connected by couplings 16 and 17 which serve as partitions and also serve as lower heads for the upper and intermediate sections of the tower or column, which may be referred to as cylinders. Gaskets 18 are provided to form tight joints for the lower end of the cylinder 15 and adjacent ends of this cylinder and the cylinder 13. An opening or passage 19 is formed centrally hrough the partition or coupling 16 and in order to establish communication with the lower ends of the cylinders 13 and 15, the couplings are formed with ports 20 and 21 respectively. A cap 22 is screwed upon the upper end of the column and this cap is formed with an air escape opening 23 and with a centrally located opening or passage 24 through which the upper end of the plunger passes.

The plunger is of a sectional construction and consists of upper and lower rods 25 and 26 having threaded end portions. The upper end of the rod 25 extends outwardly through the passage 24 and carries a head 27 formed with a perforated car 28 and the upper end of the rod 26 extends upwardly through the opening 19 of the coupling 16 into the lower end of the cylinder 13. The two rods are disposed in axial alinement with each other and their adjacent ends are connected by a sleeve or coupling 29 which. not only serves as a coupling but also constitutes a collar upon which rests the lower end of a spring 30 coiled about the rod 25. This spring has its upper end bearing against the cap 22 and serves to urge the plunger downwardly until the collar strikes the partition or coupling 16 and yieldably resists upward movement of the plun At its lower end the rod 26 carries a piston consisting of a leather cup 31 fitted upon the rod 26 and having its marginal flanges contacting with walls of the cylinder. A disc is threaded upon the lower end of the rod 26 and serves not only to retain the leather up against a backing disc 31 but also constitutes a shaper for the cup. By an inspection of Figure 2, it will be readily seen that when oil under aressure is forced from the pump 7 through the pipe 33 and port 21 into the lower end of the cylinder 15, it will act against the piston and force the plunger upwardly against the action of the spring 30. Therefore, the damper will be moved to an open position.

The draw rod or pitman 12 consists of upper and lower rods or sections 3% which are threaded and connected by a turnbuckle 35 and at their remote ends these rods are provided with heads 36 perforated so that they may be pivotally connected one with the car 28 of the cap 27 and the other with the handle 5 by bolts or equivalent fasteners 37 which are passed through the eye. Since the draw rod includes a turnbuckle it may be longitudinally adjusted and the damper caused to be properly opened and closed.

hen this damper adjusting device is in use, it is installed as shown in Figure 1, with the upper end of the draw rod pivotally connected with the free end of the damper handle. A base 38 is forn'icd about the lower end of the column, through which bolts 39 may be passed to firmly secure the column in position, or the column may be mounted in any other desired manner. After the column has been erected and the upper end of the draw rod 12 connected with the handle 5 of the damper, the turnbuckle 35 is adjusted to cause the damper to be fully closed when the plunger is in its lowermost or normal position. The port 21 is connected with the pump 7 by the pipe 33 and a gauge 40 is applied to this pipe near the pump so that it can be determined whether or not the proper pressure is established in the pipe when the pump is in operation. The port 20 has connected with it one end of a pipe 11 to establish communication between the upper cylinder 13 and the storage tank 8. As soon as the oil burner is turned on, pressure is established through the pipe 33 and oil which is forced through this pipe into the lower end of the intermediate section or cylinder 15, will act against the piston to raise the plunger and move the damper to an open position. Therefore, a proper draft is established. As soon as the oil burner is turned off, the oil in the pipe 33 and lower portion of the cylinder 15 is relieved from the pressure established when the pump is in operation and the spring 30 forces the plunger downwardly and returns it to its normal position. This causes the damper to be closed, as shown in Figure 1, and hot air and products of combustion will be confined in the firebox of the boiler. Therefore, the hot air and gases will be prevented from being sucked out of the boiler and cold air prevented from being drawn into the firebox. Therefore, a greater length of time will elapse before the temperature is reduced to such a point that the oil burn-er will be again turned on by its thermostatic control. If any oil should work past the piston and be carried upwardly into the upper cylinder, this oil will drain out of the upper cylinder through the pipe 41 and return to the storage tank. Oil in the pipe 33 and the lower portion of the cylinder 15 returns to the tank 8 by way of the pump and the low pressure regulating Valve 42 and pipe 43 as the piston is forced downwardly by the spring 30. The valve 42 is of a conventional construction and may be constructed as shown in Fig. 4 of Patent No. 1,185,596, issued May 30, 1916, or of any other specific construction found suitable.

What is claimed is:

1. In a damper adjusting device, a tower, a partition dividing said tower into an upper chamber and a chamber below the upper chamber, a plunger slidable through said chambers vertically of the tower and consisting of upper and lower sections disposed centrally in the chambers with the lower section extending through the partition into the upper chamber and the upper section extending through the top of said tower, a coupling connecting said plunger sections and limiting downward movement of the plunger by engagement withsaid partition, a head for the upper end of said plunger, a rod having one end connected to said head and its other end adapted to be connected to an actuating handle for a damper, a piston carried by the lower end of said plunger and movable therewith through the lower chamber, a spring in upper chamber bearing against said coupling and yieldably resisting upward movement of said plunger, and pipes communicating with the lower ends of said chambers, one pipe being adapted to admit fluid under pressure into the lower chamber beneath the piston to act against the same and raise the plunger and the other pipe constituting a drain pipe for the upper chamber.

2. In a damper adjusting device, a tower consisting of an upper cylinder and a cylinder below the upper cylinder, a coupling connecting the adjacent ends of said cylinders and constituting a partition between the same, a head for the lower end of the lower cylinder, a plunger slidable vertically through said tower and consisting of upper and lower sections disposed centrally in the cylinders with the lower section extending through said coupling intothe upper cylinder and the upper section extending through the top of said tower, means releasably connecting adjoining ends of the sections of said plunger, means to connect the upper end of said plunger with an actuating handle of a damper, a piston carried by the lower section of said plunger and movable therewith through the lower cylinder, resilient means yieldably resisting upward movement of the plunger, and pipes communicating with the lower ends of said cylinders through ports formed in the coupling and head, one pipe being adapted to admit fluid under pressure into the lower cylinder beneath the piston to act against the same and raise the plunger, and the other pipe constituting a drain pipe for the upper cylinder.

3. Ina damper adjusting device, a tower consisting of upper, lower and intermediate cylinders, the lower cylinder serving as a support for the other cylinders, a cap for the upper end of the upper cylinder, couplings uniting'adjoining ends of said cylinders constituting heads for the lower ends of the upper and intermediate cylinders, said couplings being formed with ports opening through their sides and at their inner ends communicating one. with the intermediate cylinder and the other with the upper cylinder, pipes connected with the outer ends of said ports, one pipe being adapted to admit fluid under pressure into the intermediate cylinder and the other pipe serving as a drain pipe for the upper cylinder, a plunger disposed axially in the upper and intermediate cylinders and slidable vertically therein through the coupling connecting the same with its upper end projecting above the tower through said cap, means to connect the upper end of said plunger with an actuating handle of a damper, and a piston carried by the lower end of said plunger and adapted to be moved upwardly and raise the plunger to open the damper when fluid under pressure enters the intermediate compartment through the coupling at the lower end thereof, a collar about said plunger within the upper compartment, and a spring about said plunger between said collar and the cap at the upper end of the upper compartment and serving to normally hold the plunger depressed.

In testimony whereof I aflix m signature.

BENJAMIN R. GRAC [L. s] 

